Norberto Duenas

In the sexy world of local politics, an IT director might not seem like an exciting job. But in the “Capital of Silicon Valley” — a city that’s embarking on a major technological evolution — the role is vital.

San Jose on Tuesday picked Rob Lloyd to steer the ship. Lloyd comes from Arizona, where he served as Chief Information Officer for the city of Avondale for five years. He will replace Vijay Sammeta who announced his resignation in March after 23 years with the city. His last day is July 30.

Sammeta quit to start his own private consulting firm. But he’s leaving as San Jose City Hall begins upgrading its technology systems — including budget, personnel, financial management, planning and permitting programs — many of which are surprisingly outdated for a city in the heart of innovation.

Mayor Sam Liccardo has called South Hall, the city convention center’s oversized blue-striped tent in the heart of downtown, a “dog.” Liccardo also is a loyal Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter.
When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came to town for a campaign rally, did that factor into the city offering up the eyesore to Trump?Those are the whispers around City Hall, but the folks who operate the venue say that’s not the case. Dave Costain, chief operating officer of Team San Jose, the nonprofit that runs the city-owned McEnery Convention Center, was reluctant to discuss the event booking, citing a confidentiality agreement. But he eventually offered this: “South Hall was the only facility with sufficient space to meet the Trump organization’s requests and that was available on the date and at the time requested.”
But in the wake of violence that put San Jose at the center of national criticism over the city’s security for the Trump rally, some are questioning whether using South Hall was a good idea.
“The South Hall has been a nightmare for base security operations,” said Steve Brown, a District 2 council candidate whose company provided security to South Hall, during a GOP meeting.
Bob Nunez, the head of the local Republican Party, said the venue had no direct parking, making it difficult to control the crowds.
“That is not a venue that I would have selected myself,” Nunez said. “With people having so many options on where to park, it’s hard to provide safe tactics.”
Police Chief Eddie Garcia agreed that parking was a problem, especially once his team was forced to divert crowds in the opposite direction because Trump stayed to sign autographs.
And although the city had two days to prepare for the rally, it appears communication was lacking. The Trump campaign reached out to Team San Jose on May 27 — nearly a week before the June 2 rally. Team San Jose officials contacted Liccardo. But City Manager Norberto Dueñas didn’t hear from either of them, and Chief Garcia had no input on where to put Trump.
With Trump likely coming back during the fall campaign, Vice Mayor Rose Herrera and Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio have pressed Dueñas for more information.

An exterior view of San Jose McEnery Convention Center’s South Hall on May 29, 2012 in downtown San Jose.

Angelique Gaeta, San Jose’s assistant to the city manager. Credit: LinkedIn

Just before 9 a.m. Friday morning, a reporter ran into Angelique Gaeta, a longtime administrator who runs the city’s medical marijuana program, at City Hall’s coffee cart.

After some small talk, an interview for Tuesday was set up — a chance to chat about medical marijuana deliveries in San Jose — an idea being mulled by the City Council.

But by Tuesday morning, Gaeta was gone. City Hall is mum about why Gaeta, who’s been with the city 15 years, was shown the door.

Gaeta, 46, declined to comment about the situation Tuesday, but said she was “surprised” by the decision.

“I’m looking into all options available to protect both my legal rights and my reputation that I’ve earned of hard work and doing what is in the best interest of the city,” she said in a statement. “I’ve been with the city for 15 years and have always received positive performance reviews from both the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager’s Office.”

A top official at the San Jose City Manager’s Office is being accused of lying and making threats.

Angelique Gaeta, the city’s medical marijuana czar, is under fire after an “internal meeting” with 15 weed collectives on Dec. 1. Gaeta, who’s in charge of regulating the marijuana shops, allegedly pressured them not to support a 2016 ballot measure to replace the city’s pot rules.

“She even went so far as to threaten that if support were given to the initiative, she would immediately end all city cooperation with the collectives,” said a letter signed by 10 of the groups. “We are disheartened that the very regulator from which we expect a sense of truth and fair dealing is found to be lacking these very basic precepts.”

Gaeta hung up when asked for comment and didn’t return calls.

City Manager Norberto Duenas, Gaeta’s boss, says he was “disappointed” by the letter, but quickly dismissed the claims.